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A new Dairy Princess and Alternate Princess were crowned Saturday, May 13th at Oaklawn Farm event venue just outside of Montrose. Dairy Princess Courtney Marvin was crowned by outgoing Dairy Princess Holly Harvatine, assisted by Chloe Mack as crown bearer. Joining Courtney is newly crowned Alternate Princess Charlotte Quick.

Former Susquehanna County Dairy Princess Brooke Marvin welcomed everyone to Pageant and introduced members of the Dairy Court as they were ushered in by family members. The Princess candidates, Courtney Marvin and Charlotte Quick each did a dairy related skit and both presented a speech about nutrition in milk and other dairy products.

Dairy Maids Lynsey Zawiski, Maria Klim, Maci Harvatine, Kali Harvatine and Dairy Ambassadors Kaylee Walker, Emmory Coy-Puzo, Chelsea Empet and Ava Hughes each took the stage to speak about their experience and/or plans promoting our dairy farmers.

Princess Holly Harvatine gave her farewell speech, commenting about the many promotions she did with lots of support from the other young ladies on the 2022/2023 Dairy Court. Holly also mentioned she was a second generation Dairy Princess, her Mom, Julie Stalter Harvatine having been crowned Dairy Princess in 1996.

Others presenting the program were former Dairy Princesses Commissioner Betsy Arnold, Taylor Sebring Zielinski, Olivia Mitchell Zawiski and former alternate Princess Dana Nunemacher.

Everyone attending Pageant joined the newly crowned Dairy Princess Courtney Marvin and Alternate Princess Charlotte Quick for a luncheon upstairs in the beautifully decorated Oaklawn Farm barn. Thank you, Heidi Mitchell and Olivia Zawiski for hosting the 2023 Dairy Princess Pageant at Oaklawn.

It was business as usual at the Oakland Borough meeting on May 15th, which had been postponed from its regularly scheduled date a few days prior due to scheduling conflicts.

Community Development Committee chairwoman Heather Krayeski shared that the community clean-up day in April had been a smashing success, noting 39 hours worked between all volunteers and four more bags of trash collected than last year. She also stated that she was in communication with a graphic designer about creating a new logo for the Borough and was seeking more interest from other designers.

The treasurer report boasting nearly $200,000 in assets and bill list totaling $13,000 were approved without issue. In the absence of finance committee chairman Robert Muiter, Treasurer Rhonda Parfitt asked the Council to approve the renewal of a 6-month CD in the amount of $15,000 which uses Capital Reserve funds, and a 3-month CD in the amount of $25,000 which uses American Rescue Plan funds. The Council also voted to advertise for a treasurer trainee, given Ms. Parfitt's eventual departure from the position and the difficulty in finding a qualified candidate.

Councilman Brad Krayeski presented the codes report noting no complaints and only one application for an assessment permit. He also noted the unfortunate resignation of Codes Enforcement Officer Roy Williams, and requested that the Council consider altering Mr. Williams' employment status to be that of a consultant on an as-needed basis. The Council voted in favor, thanking Mr. Williams for the great progress made as a result of his work.

Council President Valerie Senese presented the police report which consisted of 30 hours of service for the month of April. Calls included erratic drivers, and one each -harassment, noise complaint, transport, verbal argument, animal complaint, theft, and suspicious vehicle, in addition to several hours of patrolling.

In the absence of Mayor Randy Glover, Ms. Senese also provided a DPW report, noting that the mayor and Borough employee Pete Miller were working on River Road and Spring Creek Road to remediate ruts and potholes. The department would again be working with Chris Miller Contracting to address the condition of the Borough's ditches. The Council voted to hire Russ Klapatch Garden Design to spray and kill the Japanese Knotweed around the Borough building and at the Oakland Park. They also voted, upon request by Randy Glover, to hire a new employee for the department as a laborer.

Regarding the parks committee report, Chairman Gary Boughton requested for Jerry Senese to be appointed as a member, and the Council approved Mr. Senese to volunteer to maintain the park, pending the approval of his volunteer application.

Other business included the approval of a quote to accomplish the comprehensive plan between Oakland and Susquehanna Boroughs and the approval of payment for a Geotechnical survey. Additionally, the Council unanimously requested that its administrative employees craft a letter pleading with the PA Senate to vote against a bill regarding OSHA mandates which would place an extreme burden on the Borough's taxpayers.

The Borough Council will next meet on June 8th at 7:00pm at the Borough building.

The artists at Emanuel-Teitsworth Studio will be exhibiting new landscape and still-life paintings at Woods & Company, 639 Northern Blvd. in South Abington Township. The exhibit will feature watercolor and acrylic paintings by Tim Butler, Rich Chiavacci, Estelle Chunca, Michele Davis, Nettie Goldstein, Carol Matheson, Cindy Reynolds, Laurie Roczkowski, Judy Vescovi, James Hannagan, Abby Peck and Stephanie Thomas, as well as paintings by Renee Emanuel and Bill Teitsworth, professional artists and instructors.

Bill and Renee have presented workshops, demonstrations and other exhibits for many years throughout the area as well as in other areas including New York City and Maine. Several of the participating artists have not only studied with them at their Moscow studio but have also spent week-long workshop time at their studio in Owls Head, Maine.

The opening reception for this exhibit is Friday, June 2nd, from 5:00 - 7:00pm with additional hours on Saturday, June 3rd, from 11:00am to 4:00pm. Woods & Company is a lovely eclectic shop owned and operated by sisters Nettie and Val. For more information, call Nettie Goldstein of Woods & Company at 570-585-5685. The event is free and open to the public, so mark your calendars and plan to join the artists for the evening, or browse on your own the following day.